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Testing your ads, Optimizing FLA files for SWF output, Optimize Flash documents

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USING FLASH CS4 PROFESSIONAL 436 Best practices Testing your ads Test your SWF file ad on the most common browsers, especially the browsers that your target audience uses. Some users might not have Flash Player installed or they might have JavaScript disabled. Plan for these circumstances by having a replacement (default) GIF image or other scenarios for these users. For more information on detecting Flash Player, see "Specify publish settings for SWF files" on page 383. Give the user control of the SWF file. Let the user control any audio in the ad. If the advertisement is a borderless SWF file that hovers over a web page, let the user close the advertisement immediately and for the duration of the ad. For the latest information on Flash Player version penetration for different regions, go to www.adobe.com/go/fp_version_penetration. Optimizing FLA files for SWF output Optimize Flash documents As your document file size increases, so does its download time and playback speed. You can take several steps to prepare your document for optimal playback. As part of the publishing process, Flash automatically performs some optimization on documents. Before exporting a document, you can optimize it further by using various strategies to reduce the file size. You can also compress a SWF file as you publish it. As you make changes, test your document by running it on a variety of computers, operating systems, and Internet connections. For a video tutorial about optimizing SWF files, see www.adobe.com/go/vid0140. Optimize documents • Use symbols, animated or otherwise, for every element that appears more than once. • Use tweened animations whenever possible when creating animation sequences. Tweened animations use less file space than a series of keyframes. • Use movie clips instead of graphic symbols for animation sequences. • Limit the area of change in each keyframe; make the action take place in as small an area as possible. • Avoid animating bitmap elements; use bitmap images as background or static elements. • Use mp3, the smallest sound format, whenever possible. Optimize elements and lines • Group elements. • Use layers to separate elements that change during the animation from elements that do not. • Use Modify > Shape > Optimize to minimize the number of separate lines that are used to describe shapes. • Limit the number of special line types, such as dashed, dotted, ragged, and so on. Solid lines require less memory. Lines created with the Pencil tool require less memory than brush strokes. Optimize text and fonts • Limit the number of fonts and font styles. Use embedded fonts sparingly because they increase file size. • For Embed Fonts options, select only the characters needed instead of including the entire font. Updated 5 March 2009

Section	Page
Contents	3
Chapter 1: Resources	6
Activation and registration	6
Help with installation	6
License activation	6
Register	6
Adobe Product Improvement Program	6
ReadMe	7
Help and support	7
Community Help	7
Product Help	7
Printed resources	8
Support resources	8
Services, downloads, and extras	8
Adobe creative online services	8
Adobe Exchange	9
Adobe downloads	9
Adobe Labs	9
Adobe TV	9
Extras	9
Getting started in Flash	9
What’s new	11
New features	11
Chapter 2: Workspace	14
Flash workflow and workspace	14
General Flash workflow	14
Workspace overview	15
Hide or show all panels	16
Display panel options	16
(Illustrator) Adjust panel brightness	16
Reconfigure the Tools panel	16
Manage windows and panels	16
Manage Document windows	17
Dock and undock panels	17
Move panels	18
Add and remove panels	18
Manipulate panel groups	19
Stack floating panels	19
Resize panels	19
Manipulate panels collapsed to icons	19
Restore the default workspace	20
Save and switch workspaces	20
Save a custom workspace	21
Display or switch workspaces	21
Delete a custom workspace	21
(Photoshop) Start with the last or default panel locations	21
Working with ConnectNow	21
Working with ConnectNow	22
Using the Stage and Tools panel	22
Welcome screen overview	22
Using the Stage	22
Zoom the Stage	23
Move the view of the Stage	24
Use rulers	24
Use guides	24
Set guide preferences	24
Use the grid	25
Display or hide the drawing grid	25
Turn snapping to grid lines on or off	25
Set grid preferences	25
About the main toolbar and edit bar	25
Tools panel overview	25
Use the Tools panel	26
Select tools	26
Customize the Tools panel	26
Use context menus	27
The Timeline	27
About the Timeline	27
Change the appearance of the Timeline	28
Change the display of frames in the Timeline	28
Change layer height in the Timeline	29
Resize the Timeline	29
Move the playhead	29
Using Flash authoring panels	30
About the Property inspector	30
About the Library panel	31
About the Actions panel	31
Use the Movie Explorer	32
View the Movie Explorer	32
Filter the categories of items that appear in the Movie Explorer	32
Search for an item using the Find box	32
Select an item in the Movie Explorer	33
Use the Movie Explorer Panel menu or context menu commands	33
About Flash components and the Components panel	33
Insert a component using the Component panel	34
Enter parameters for a component using the Component inspector	34
About the Web Services panel	34
Undo, redo, and history	34
Undo, Redo, and Repeat commands	34
Using the History panel	35
Undo steps with the History panel	36
Replay steps with the History panel	36
Replay one step	36
Replay a series of adjacent steps	36
Replay nonadjacent steps	36
Copy and paste steps between documents	36
Automating tasks with the Commands menu	37
Create and manage commands	37
Create a command	37
Edit the names of commands in the Commands menu	37
Delete a name from the Commands menu	37
Run commands	37
Get more commands	38
Steps that can’t be used in commands	38
Accessibility in the Flash workspace	38
About accessibility support	38
About Flash authoring accessibility on the Macintosh	38
Select panels or the Property inspector with keyboard shortcuts	38
Use keyboard shortcuts to select or deselect, expand, or collapse panels or the Property inspector	39
Use keyboard shortcuts to expand or collapse panels or the Property inspector	39
Select controls in a panel or the Property inspector using keyboard shortcuts	39
Move the focus from a panel title bar to a panel options menu	40
Move the focus through the items in the Panel menu of a panel	40
Move the focus through the controls in a panel	40
Navigate dialog box controls using keyboard shortcuts (Windows only)	40
Select the Stage or objects on the Stage using keyboard shortcuts	40
Navigate tree structures using keyboard shortcuts	41
Work with library items using keyboard shortcuts	41
Set preferences in Flash	42
Set preferences	43
Set AutoFormat preferences for ActionScript	43
Set text preferences	43
Set warning preferences	43
Set General preferences	44
Clipboard preferences	44
Keyboard shortcuts	45
Create and modify custom keyboard shortcuts	45
Customize keyboard shortcuts	45
Remove a shortcut from a command	46
Add a shortcut to a command	46
Edit an existing shortcut	46
Customize keyboard shortcut sets	46
View or print the current set of keyboard shortcuts	46
Select a keyboard shortcut set	47
Create a keyboard shortcut set	47
Rename a custom keyboard shortcut set	47
Add or remove a keyboard shortcut	47
Delete a keyboard shortcut set	47
Chapter 3: Managing documents	48
Working with Flash documents	48
About Flash files	48
Create a new document	48
Create a new document	49
Create a new document from a template	49
Open an existing document	49
Open a new window for the current document	49
Set properties for a new or existing document	49
Change document properties using the Property inspector	50
Add XMP metadata to a document	50
View a document when multiple documents are open	51
Save Flash documents	51
Save a Flash document	51
Revert to the last saved version of a document	51
Save a document as a template	51
Save a document as a Flash CS3 document	51
Save documents when quitting Flash	52
Working with other Adobe applications	52
Opening XFL files	52
Edit a SWF file from Dreamweaver in Flash	53
Create mobile content with Adobe Device Central and Flash	53
About Version Cue	54
Printing Flash documents	55
Print from Flash documents	55
Use frame labels to disable printing	55
Disable printing in the Flash Player context menu	56
Disable printing by removing the Flash Player context menu	56
Specify a print area when printing frames	56
Change the printed background color	56
Print from the Flash Player context menu	57
Working with projects	57
About projects	57
Create and manage projects	57
Create a project	58
Create a Quick Project	58
Open an existing project	59
Close a project	59
Delete a project	59
Convert previous projects to the new project format	59
Add a new file or folder to a project	59
Rename a project	60
Open a file from the Project panel in Flash	60
Remove a file or folder from a project	60
Add an external folder to a project	60
Create ActionScript classes	61
Create class templates	61
Pin a directory	62
Compiling FLA files	62
Create Flash projects for use with Flex class files	63
Find and Replace	63
About Find and Replace	63
Find and replace text	64
Find and replace fonts	64
Find and replace colors	65
Find and replace symbols	66
Find and replace sound, video, or bitmap files	66
Templates	67
About templates	67
Use templates	67
Chapter 4: Using imported artwork	68
Placing artwork into Flash	68
About importing artwork into Flash	68
Import artwork in Flash	69
Import a file into Flash	69
Paste a bitmap from another application directly into the current Flash document	69
Supported file formats for vector or bitmap files	70
Import FreeHand MX files	70
About AutoCAD DXF files	71
Working with Fireworks files	72
About imported Fireworks PNG files	72
About imported filters and blends from Fireworks PNG files	72
Importing text from Fireworks into Flash	73
Working with Illustrator AI files	74
About Adobe Illustrator AI files	74
Working with Illustrator and Flash	75
About importing AI files to the Flash library	77
Import Adobe Illustrator files	79
Illustrator object import options	81
Correcting incompatible graphic effects	81
Select individual objects	81
Selecting layers	81
Text import options	82
Path import options	82
Image import options	82
Group import options	83
Copy and pasting between Illustrator and Flash	83
Working with Photoshop PSD files	83
Working with Photoshop and Flash	83
About importing Photoshop PSD files	84
Import Photoshop PSD files	85
Importing PSD files to the Flash library	87
Photoshop Import options	87
Importing text objects	88
Importing shape objects	88
Importing image or fill layers	88
Importing merged bitmap objects and objects in a merged bitmap	88
Importing multiple objects of different types	88
Importing multiple objects of the same type	89
Importing a Group folder	89
Importing and merging layers	89
Setting publish options	89
Photoshop file importer preferences	89
Import Image Layers Preferences	90
Text layer import preferences	90
Shape layer import preferences	90
Layer group import preferences	91
Merged bitmap import preferences	91
Movie clip registration import preferences	91
Publish settings for imported images	91
Imported bitmaps	91
Work with imported bitmaps	91
Display the Property inspector with bitmap properties	92
Replace an instance of a bitmap with an instance of another bitmap	92
Set bitmap properties	92
Import a bitmap at runtime	92
Apply a bitmap as a fill	93
Edit a bitmap in an external editor	93
Edit a bitmap with Fireworks 3 or later	93
Edit a bitmap with another image-editing application	93
Break apart a bitmap and create a bitmap fill	94
Break a bitmap apart	94
Change the fill of areas of a broken-apart bitmap	94
Use the Eyedropper tool to apply a bitmap fill	94
Convert a bitmap to a vector graphic	94
Chapter 5: Creating and Editing Artwork	96
Drawing	96
About drawing	96
Vector and bitmap graphics	96
Paths	97
Direction lines and direction points	98
Drawing modes and graphic objects	99
Merge Drawing mode	99
Object Drawing mode	100
Primitive objects	101
Overlapping shapes	101
Drawing preferences	101
Drawing settings	102
Selection, Subselection, and Lasso tool contact options	102
Draw simple lines and shapes	103
Draw straight lines with the Line Segment tool	103
Draw rectangles and ovals	103
Draw polygons and stars	106
Draw with the Pencil tool	106
Paint with the Brush tool	106
Drawing with the Pen tool	107
Pen tool drawing states	108
Draw straight lines with the Pen tool	108
Draw curves with the Pen tool	109
Add or delete anchor points	111
Adjust anchor points on paths	111
Adjust segments	112
Pen tool preferences	112
Drawing patterns with the Decorative drawing tools	113
Apply patterns with the Spray Brush tool	113
The Deco Drawing tool	114
Reshaping objects	116
Reshape lines and shapes	116
Display and adjust points with the Subselection tool	116
Reshape a line or shape	116
Straighten and smooth lines	116
Optimize curves	117
Modify shapes	118
Delete everything on the Stage	118
Remove stroke segments or filled areas	118
Erase by dragging	118
Transforming objects	118
Move, realign, change, and track the transformation point	119
Use the Free Transform tool	120
Distort objects	120
Modify shapes with the Envelope modifier	121
Scale objects	121
Rotate and skew objects	121
Flip objects	122
Restore transformed objects	122
Combining objects	123
Moving, arranging, and deleting artwork	123
Selecting objects	123
Select objects with the Selection tool	124
Draw a freehand selection area	124
Draw a straight-edged selection area	124
Draw a selection area with both freehand and straight-line edges	125
Hide selection highlighting	125
Set custom bounding box colors for selected objects	125
Set preferences for selecting	125
Arranging objects	126
Stack objects	126
Align objects	126
Group objects	126
Edit a group or an object within a group	127
Break apart groups and objects	127
Snapping art into position	127
Turn object snapping on or off	128
Adjust object snapping tolerances	128
Use pixel snapping	128
Select settings for Snap Alignment	128
Turn on Snap Alignment	129
Moving and copying objects	129
Move objects by dragging	129
Move objects by using the arrow keys	129
Move objects by using the Property inspector	129
Move objects by using the Info panel	129
Move and copy objects by pasting	130
Copying objects with the clipboard	130
Copy transformed objects	130
Delete objects	130
Colors, gradients, and strokes	131
The Color panel	131
Color palettes	133
The default palette and the web-safe palette	133
Sort color by hue in the palette	133
Import and export color palettes	133
Create or edit a solid color	134
Create or edit a gradient fill	134
Adjust Stroke and Fill color	135
Adjust stroke and fill color using the Tools panel	136
Apply a solid color fill using the Property inspector	136
Select a stroke color, style, and weight using the Property inspector	136
Adjust the strokes of multiple lines or shapes	137
Copy strokes and fills	138
Duplicate, delete, and clear colors	138
Modifying painted areas	138
Transform gradient and bitmap fills	139
Lock a gradient or bitmap to fill the Stage	141
Use a locked gradient fill	141
Use a locked bitmap fill	142
Kuler panel	142
About the Kuler panel	142
Browse themes	142
Working with themes	143
3D graphics	144
About 3D graphics in Flash	144
Move objects in 3D space	145
Move a single object in 3D space	146
Move a multiple-object selection in 3D space	147
Rotate objects in 3D space	147
Rotate a single object in 3D space	148
Rotate a multiple-object selection in 3D space	148
Rotate a selection with the Transform panel	149
Adjusting the Perspective Angle	149
Adjust the Vanishing Point	151
Chapter 6: Symbols, instances, and library assets	152
Working with symbols	152
About symbols	152
Create symbols	153
Convert selected elements to a symbol	154
Create an empty symbol	154
Convert animation on the Stage into a movie clip symbol	155
Duplicate symbols	155
Duplicate a symbol using the Library panel	155
Duplicate a symbol by selecting an instance	155
Edit symbols	155
Edit a symbol in place	156
Edit a symbol in a new window	156
Edit a symbol in symbol-editing mode	156
Working with symbol instances	157
Create instances	157
Create an instance of a symbol	157
Apply a custom name to an instance	157
Editing instance properties	158
Change the color and transparency of an instance	158
Swap one instance for another	159
Assign a different symbol to an instance	159
Replace all instances of a symbol	160
Change an instance’s type	160
Set looping for a graphic instance	160
Break apart an instance symbol	160
Get information about instances on the Stage	161
Get information about an instance	161
View the symbol definition for the selected symbol in the Movie Explorer	161
Jump to the scene containing instances of a selected symbol	161
Working with the library	162
Managing assets with the library	162
Work with libraries	162
Open a library in another Flash file	162
Resize the Library panel	162
Change the width of columns	163
Access the Panel menu for the Library panel	163
Work with library items	163
Use a library item in the current document	163
Convert an object on the Stage to a symbol in the library	163
Use a library item from the current document in another document	163
Copy library items from a different document	163
Work with folders in the Library panel	163
Create a new folder	163
Open or close a folder	163
Open or close all folders	163
Move an item between folders	164
Sort items in the Library panel	164
Edit a library item	164
Rename a library item	164
Delete a library item	164
Find unused library items	164
Update imported files in the library	165
Work with common libraries	165
Use an item from a common library in a document	165
Create a common library for your SWF application	165
Copy library assets between documents	165
Copy a library asset by copying and pasting	166
Copy a library asset by dragging	166
Copy a library asset by opening the source document library in the destination document	166
Conflicts between library assets	166
Resolve naming conflicts between library assets	167
Sharing library assets	167
About shared library assets	167
Working with runtime shared assets	167
Define runtime shared assets in a source document	167
Link to runtime shared assets from a destination document	168
Link a shared asset to a destination document by entering the identifier and URL	168
Link a shared asset to a destination document by dragging	168
Turn off sharing for a symbol in a destination document	168
Update or replace symbols	169
Working with button symbols	169
Create a button	169
Enable, edit, and test buttons	170
Enable and disable buttons	170
Select, move, or edit an enabled button	170
Test a button	171
Scaling and caching symbols	171
About 9-slice scaling and movie clip symbols	171
Edit movie clip symbols with 9-slice scaling	172
Enable 9-slice scaling for an existing movie clip symbol	172
Edit a 9-slice-enabled movie clip symbol	172
Using runtime bitmap caching with movie clip and button symbols	173
Specify bitmap caching for a movie clip	173
Symbols and ActionScript	173
Controlling instances and symbols with ActionScript	173
Controlling instances with behaviors	174
Add and configure a behavior	175
Create custom behaviors	175
Chapter 7: Timelines and Animation	177
Working with timelines	177
Frames and keyframes	177
Insert frames in the Timeline	177
Select frames in the Timeline	177
Specify span-based frame selection	178
Copy or paste a frame or frame sequence	178
Delete a frame or frame sequence	178
Move a keyframe or frame sequence and its contents	178
Change the length of a static frame sequence	178
Convert a keyframe to a frame	178
Create and organize layers	178
Create a layer	179
Create a layer folder	179
Organize layers and layer folders	180
Rename a layer or folder	180
Select a layer or folder	180
Copy a layer	180
Copy the contents of a layer folder	181
Delete a layer or folder	181
Lock or unlock one or more layers or folders	181
View layers and layer folders	181
Show or hide a layer or folder	181
View the contents of a layer as outlines	181
Change a layer’s outline color	182
Guide layers	182
Create a guide layer	182
Create a motion guide layer	182
About multiple timelines and levels	182
About nested movie clips and parent-child hierarchy	183
Working with scenes	183
Display the Scene panel	184

Match case Limit results 1 per page

436

USING FLASH CS4 PROFESSIONAL

Best practices

Testing your ads

Test your SWF file ad on the most common browsers, especially the browsers that your target audience uses. Some

users might not have Flash Player installed or they might have JavaScript disabled. Plan for these circumstances by

having a replacement (default) GIF image or other scenarios for these users. For more information on detecting Flash

Player, see “

Specify publish settings for SWF files

” on page

383. Give the user control of the SWF file. Let the user

control any audio in the ad. If the advertisement is a borderless SWF file that hovers over a web page, let the user close

the advertisement immediately and for the duration of the ad.

For the latest information on Flash Player version penetration for different regions, go to

www.adobe.com/go/fp_version_penetration

Optimizing FLA files for SWF output

Optimize Flash documents

As your document file size increases, so does its download time and playback speed. You can take several steps to

prepare your document for optimal playback. As part of the publishing process, Flash automatically performs some

optimization on documents. Before exporting a document, you can optimize it further by using various strategies to

reduce the file size. You can also compress a SWF file as you publish it. As you make changes, test your document by

running it on a variety of computers, operating systems, and Internet connections.

For a video tutorial about optimizing SWF files, see

www.adobe.com/go/vid0140

Optimize documents

•

Use symbols, animated or otherwise, for every element that appears more than once.

•

Use tweened animations whenever possible when creating animation sequences. Tweened animations use less file

space than a series of keyframes.

•

Use movie clips instead of graphic symbols for animation sequences.

•

Limit the area of change in each keyframe; make the action take place in as small an area as possible.

•

Avoid animating bitmap elements; use bitmap images as background or static elements.

•

Use mp3, the smallest sound format, whenever possible.

Optimize elements and lines

•

Group elements.

•

Use layers to separate elements that change during the animation from elements that do not.

•

Use Modify

> Shape

> Optimize to minimize the number of separate lines that are used to describe shapes.

•

Limit the number of special line types, such as dashed, dotted, ragged, and so on. Solid lines require less memory.

Lines created with the Pencil tool require less memory than brush strokes.

Optimize text and fonts

•

Limit the number of fonts and font styles. Use embedded fonts sparingly because they increase file size.

•

For Embed Fonts options, select only the characters needed instead of including the entire font.

Updated 5 March 2009